The Sedona Main Street Program
nominates Hummingbird House for Best Historic Preservation project.
The Hummingbird House,
formally known as the Hart Store, was Sedona’s first commercial
building, built in 1926. The Hart Store went through many changes and
uses over the years. The building was left vacant except for the rats,
for decades and became an eyesore until Annemarie & her husband Jac
purchased what was to become the Hummingbird House.
Annemarie Hunter and
Jac Robson bought this historic property with a vision of restoration
honoring Sedona’s disappearing past. The structure was declared
(Sedona’s 11th) Local Historic Landmark in 2002. All the
exterior renovations and restoration were done by Jac Robson’s company,
Sun Mountain Construction and Design with an approved Certificate of
Appropriateness from the City’s Historic Preservation Commission. The
original corrugated metal roof and stucco siding were preserved. The
long-ago enclosed porch was even re-covered with a small profile
ship-lap siding.
Attention to historic
details were observed and preserved. The original windows and doors were
repaired and re-used in their original locations. The antique metal
advertising signs were re-hung and are a local landmark in themselves.
Next to the store is a small utility shed, now restored. Even the
waterwheel, originally built to attract attention of passers-by, was
repaired and now runs daily and attracts the attentions of each
passer-by. The original awnings were repaired, cleaned and now grace
the structure. During the restoration process the original landscaping
of plants and flowering bulbs were removed one by one, and then brought
back and planted one by one. They now flourish.
The interior was restored with an
immense amount of effort to repair extensive termite damage to the
interior and exterior wood. The bead board wainscoting used throughout
the house was recreated by matching the undamaged wood from 1926. Old
damaged flooring was replaced with reclaimed heart pine from the
original 1917 Spiegel Warehouse in Chicago, Illinois. Some of the
interior fixtures were refinished and reinstalled. Heating and air
conditioning was added for convenience, but one of the original wood
burning stoves remains in the front room. Many historic photos of the
original store and photos of the same era decorate the walls. The bath
and kitchen cabinets were saved and restored also.
This has been a successful historic
preservation project because of the care taken with, and the amount of
the re-stored, re-used materials used; the high degree of historic
integrity and historic elements preserved during the work; the concern
with maintaining the historic context of the site in terms of open
space, landscaping; and the preservation of outbuildings. From the
beginning, preserving identifiable historic character and charm of the
building and the site was Annemarie’s and Jac’s goal. Including the
price of the land, repairs, research and upgrades to the Hummingbird
House, the Historic Hart Store, Annemarie and Jac have invested over
$435,000 to date, (excluding historical accessories that enhance the
nostalgic quality of this site).
Annemarie and Jac now operate the
Hummingbird House, in the Historic Hart Store. Antiques, gifts and
custom furniture are sold from this historic structure. This nostalgic
space reawakens memories of times gone past with penny candy and glass
bottled soda sold too. Visitors and residents stop by on a regular basis
to see inside the structure that peaked their curiosity and affection.
The new business housed in this historic structure has been able to
successfully leverage the fact that they are in a preserved historic
structure to attract business.
The Hummingbird House is used as an
example and model by the City of Sedona for preservation and is a
catalyst for cultural heritage promotion. Once again, the Hummingbird
House is the historic “heart” of Sedona and one of the sites on
historical walking tours.
Photos included with Nomination
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